Dear Neighbor,
Wishing you a happy Labor Day! I hope you enjoy a safe, restful, and fun-filled long weekend with family and friends.
While it feels as if the summer just started, August is almost over and the first day of school is here for many students across our community. As we get ready to welcome a new season and a new academic year, I hope you and your family enjoy this time together and make the most of everything the Great Lakes State has to offer this time of year.
As always, please feel free to reach out to share your thoughts or seek assistance with any challenges you may be facing with state departments. You can email me at SenEGeiss@senate.michigan.gov or call 517-373-7800.
Sincerely,
Erika Geiss
State Senator
District 1
- While Senate Democrats passed an education budget months ago that continues critical investments in school safety, student mental health, and the universal school meals program, continued inaction from House Speaker Matt Hall and his Republican colleagues to craft and negotiate a budget has left districts across the state scrambling. Learn more below.
- River Rouge Days are back Sept. 5–7! Celebrate with the community at Memorial Park and enjoy a weekend full of fun.
- The Home Heating Tax Credit is a way the state of Michigan helps low-income families pay some of their heating expenses. See if you qualify before Sept. 30.
With the Clock Ticking, Senate Dems Ask House Republicans: Where’s the Budget?
The very real consequences of House Republicans’ inaction to craft and negotiate a state budget in a timely manner are starting to be felt in districts across the state as many students begin heading back to school. With Speaker Matt Hall and his House Republican caucus failing to take any reasonable and good-faith steps to complete a budget or make the investments kids and families need, school administrators are left scrambling to plan without knowing how much funding they’re set to receive for the academic year.
Michigan students and teachers deserve better. The Senate passed an education budget months ago, well before the statutory July 1 deadline, that protects critical programs like free school meals, investing in mental health and safety initiatives, and ensuring smaller class sizes. The continued inaction on the education budget from the House GOP puts these investments at risk. Now, the House finally passed an omnibus budget this past Tuesday, but it was many weeks late and millions of dollars short of investments in areas that many Michiganders value and believe are important. It also cut funding to critical areas of need for our people and communities.
The delays created by the House GOP are unacceptable, immoral, and just plain bad governance. That’s why Senate Democrats are continuing to sound the alarm and urge Speaker Hall to allow his caucus to begin engaging in good-faith negotiations immediately. For the sake of our students, we must reach a budget agreement before more harm is done. As the clock continues to tick, my Senate Democratic colleagues and I remain at the table ready to negotiate a budget that doesn’t shortchange Michigan students or their families.
Learn more by watching our recent press conference here.
Senate Democrats Advance Bipartisan Bills Only for Them to Stall in the House
In addition to keeping us from getting a state budget done, Speaker Matt Hall and House Republicans are stalling action on 49 bills that my Senate colleagues and I passed with unanimous and bipartisan support. Through extensive conversations with community members, stakeholders, and subject-matter experts, we crafted these bills to deliver real progress for Michigan families. Among these bills that are stacking up is legislation that would:
- Address Michigan’s opioid crisis by expanding access to support services and treatment options;
- Strengthen protections for our retired service members and their families, while also improving veterans’ access to the benefits they’ve earned; and,
- Allow survivors of sexual assault the opportunity to get the justice they deserve by fixing Michigan’s broken statute of limitations for civil claims and repealing immunity for educational institutions that conceal systemic abuse.
Here in the Senate, we’ll keep doing the work you sent us here to do — working together with anyone who’s serious about tackling the challenges facing our state. And we’ll continue to try and engage with our House counterparts to get them to do the same. In the meantime, you can learn more about these bills here.
Senate Hearing Uplifts Consequences of Trump’s Big “Beautiful” Bill on Michiganders
From funding freezes to massive federal layoffs and short-sighted tariffs, Michiganders and folks across the country have been feeling the impacts of the Trump administration’s reckless actions since the start of this year. More recently, Senate Democrats have been sounding the alarm on his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that was signed into law earlier this summer.
To examine the ugly impacts of this new law on the state budget and economy, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing recently, focusing specifically on cuts being made to Medicaid and SNAP programs. State departments, educational institutions, health care providers, and advocacy organizations all showed up to testify, highlighting how these harmful federal cuts threaten the well-being of our state and all those who call it home. From blowing a massive hole in our state budget to stripping away resources for essential health care and food assistance programs, the effects of the OBBBA are as disastrous as they are far-reaching. Learn more here, and listen to what the various testifiers had to say using this link.
River Rouge Days 2025
River Rouge Days are back from Sept. 5–7! Celebrate with the community at Memorial Park and enjoy a weekend full of fun — from the parade and carnival rides to live music, car shows, and more. Visit the event website for details.
Detroit Health Department’s Fourth Annual Block Party and Safe Sleep Walk-N-Rally
Join the Detroit Health Dept. and community members on Sept. 6 at 11:00 a.m. for the Maternal Child Health Safe Sleep Walk-N-Rally — happening one hour before the 4th Annual Block Party. This is an amazing opportunity to come together to raise awareness and keep our babies safe and healthy. Bring your family and friends and walk for this important cause!
The Block Party will follow the Walk-N-Rally from 12:00-4:00 p.m. There will be free food and beverages, health screenings, back-to-school vaccinations, games, live music, and more. Visit the event website for more details.
How to Save With the Home Heating Tax Credit
The Home Heating Tax Credit is a way the state of Michigan helps low-income families pay some of their heating expenses. This year, the average qualifying household received $180 in assistance, which is most often applied directly to residents’ utility bills. Some energy providers automatically provide claimants with a residential income assistance credit worth up to $20 monthly. With these savings, more Michiganders can have additional money in their pockets to put food on the table, afford medication, pay bills, and more.
Residents can apply for the Home Heating Tax Credit until the September 30 deadline. To qualify, residents must be a renter with a contracted lease or a homeowner and meet income requirements. You can apply for the Home Heating Tax Credit here.
New State Website to Help Michiganders Stay Protected from Wildfire Smoke
From the Upper Peninsula to the west side of the state and the east, many of us have seen and felt the far-reaching impacts of Canadian wildfires across Michigan this summer and the summers before. Just this month, Detroit was ranked third worst worldwide for major city air quality. As exposure to wildfire smoke increasingly becomes the norm here in Michigan and across the country — in large part due to the effects of climate change — it’s important for people to understand the health hazards associated with it, such as coughing, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeats, asthma attacks, and even heart failure. While wildfire smoke can affect anyone, some people are more sensitive to particle pollution, including children, older adults, people with lung or heart disease, and those who are pregnant or working outdoors.
To help Michiganders prepare for, understand, and protect themselves from the effects of wildfire smoke, the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) developed a new webpage with resources and an interactive map that shows air quality readings at state air monitors. Residents are also encouraged to sign-up to receive air quality notifications via email or text. When the air quality is in the unhealthy range for you, EGLE suggests doing the following:
- Stay indoors, keep time outdoors short, and avoid strenuous activities.
- Wear an N-95 mask for the best protection if you must be outdoors.
- Set your air system, running forced air systems on “fan” or “cooling” and window air conditioning on “recirculate.”
- Limit indoor activities that create indoor air pollution, like frying foods and using gas-powered appliances.
- Limit outdoor activities like campfires, residential wood boilers, and gas-powered vehicles.